Exeline is great this time of year

Today, I wanted to discuss another of the city-states in Kalanesia, much like I did for Halifar. Today, we’ll be checking out Exeline.

Exeline originally started as an impromptu PC home base for the first Dungeons and Dragons 4E campaign I ran. It was a metropolis that they could find whatever they needed, and it ended up being the main setting for my NaNoWriMo project.

When I sat down to work on Kalanesia, I knew I wanted to incorporate that place, and it slowly took shape. A lot of it, in particular, was fleshed out more as I worked on my novel.

Firstly, if you look at it’s first mention, its main focus is the waterfall the city is built nearby. Called the Blue Curtain (I’m assuming you can guess why), the waterfall pours into a lake that contains a small isthmus that extends from the cliff face, on which the major portion of the city is built.

Another main feature is how the city is divide. The temple disctrict is located on the edge of the isthmus closest to the waterfall, where the city’s cathedral of Aza Mathera is located. nearby is the market district, which is also connected to the docks. However, heading from the temple district, is a path that lead up portions of the cliff’s face, where the nobles have carved villas.

The docks were built for the barges that travel up and down the Blue and Falling rivers, which connect Exeline with Tri Riven and Waystrand to the south and Sargesia to the southeast. They carry Exeline’s major exports, as well as taking in its imports. In fact, the river is the major reason Exeline even exists.

This is largely because the city itself sprung up from a small village after the founding of the Mount Shoran Observatory. Diviners and stargazers found the peak of the mountain where the Blue Curtain fell to be a perfect spot for viewing the heavens. They established the observatory about a century ahead of the Blue Empire creation, and the trade between Waystrand and the wizards grew the city.

In large part, the major export of the city comes from its orchards, namely fire apples, bright read and slightly spicy, and honey pears. In the hills just ouside the city, what were once wild orchards have been cultivated and industrialized. Unlike the southern areas were vineyards more commonly produce wine, Exeline exports ciders, some of which are held in as high esteem as rare Waystradian vintages. In addition to fruits, Exeline’s mountain is home to various gemstone and granite mines that are also sent out. However, the granite industry pales in comparison to the marble that is harvested from Waystrand.

Exeline, because of its connection to learning, has developed into one of the first major democracies in the area of the former Blue Empire. During the Bloodrift War, it was the site of the final major battle and was nearly destroyed. After this, the commoners and merchants were more numerous than the noble families, who began hoarding resources. In order to prevent open class warfare, the priests of Aza Mathera suggested that a council be established with a representative of each faction: a priest, a merchant, a noble, a commoner, a representative from Mount Shoran Observatory, and a farmer from the orchards. As such, it is the second most independent city-state from Waystrand, topped only by Sargesia.

Let’s all go to Halifar

Today I had a bad case of procrastination — between the new season of “Orange is the New Black” and finally having a copy of the new Dresden novel. I’ve only got a bit before I have to get ready to leave for work for the day as I’m typing this sentence.

So, I figured I’d do something quick, simple and still substantial. Then, after a few minutes of brainstorming, I decided to talk a little more about the frontier city-state of Halifar, which, is located in the Harlifaran Tundra.

As know either remembered or now read, this city-state is is surrounded by tundra: cold-temperature grasses, pine forests, mountains and fjords.

The city itself is located in one of the few area long the coast where  land is at sea level, and with the fjords surrounding it on either side, it is easily defensible from sea.

On the land, the city is ringed by a large wooden palisade made from the iron pine tree. This wall is meant to keep barbarians and arctic elves turned back.

In fact, at one point, the iron pine was common in the northern areas but has become rare from overuse when it was a major export from the northern outpost during the Blue Empire’s hay day. Now, its harvest is closely controlled by the regent who rules for the Blue Emperor. As such, it is very expensive, and lumberjacks who cut the trees are specially trained and have travel deep into the forests to find the trees — all while turning back arctic elves that seek to prevent them from harvesting.

Fishing and whaling are also major industries in the city-state. Salmon and sturgeon are popular catches, as are the caviar that fishmongers sell to the southern city-states are high prices. Shellfish is another major source of high-priced comodities. But whale oil and perfumes are the most lucrative of the trade-goods pulled from the northern waters. In fact, in this city-state, a prevailing tale is that the goddess Orisana stepped from the waters in otterskin leathers and taught a young man the art of whaling.

Then, of course, with the various forms of furred wildlife creates a fairly decent pelt trade. White foxes, minks, polar bears, griffins and the occasional white dragon provide exotic materials for furriers and tanners in business.

 

Despite also facing the has environ, as I’ve already mention, the greatest threat to the city-state are barbarians. The primitive tribes of the north are fierce warriors and primarily survive by raiding. The arctic elves, however, have seen the destructive ways the city-state’s residents have exploited the natural resources of the area. They don’t always attack the city, but attack those who try and harvest iron pine or catch the whales of the sea.

I think you’ve got a fairly good idea what this area is like. However, I did want to mention that, in two weeks, I won’t have a post up. I’ll be on vacation and will take a break. You’ll still get one more post next week before the break, so savor it and this one.

The Blue Healer — or how I learned to stop worrying and accept that I’ve put in a Christianity knock-off

The idea of Aza Mathera came to me fairly early as a deity in Kalanesia. Every RPG setting has some kind of deity of healing, and I didn’t see any reason why such a deity wouldn’t exist in my world.

However, as the religion was forming, I couldn’t help hating the fact that it seemed so much like I had just brought Christianity into my RPG world.

But, to make my assumptions clearer, let’s look at the major tenants of the Blue Healer’s followers:

• It is a lawful good faith.
• “Aza Mathera” translates literally as the “Blue Fountain” because of the deities association with the Blue Empire and with healing springs  located in Waystrand, the seat of empire, that have been funneled into cities numerous fountains.
• Followers believe that water has healing and cleansing properties.
• They believe that, just as most lakes are tranquil and rivers run, peace and progressiveness is the natural state of the world.
• However, just as storms cause waves, they believe that, in times of need, a direct hand must be used to bring the world back to peace.

As you look over that basic outline, you probably notice some baptismal references. Throw in the law, order, ties to a fallen empire and healing, and it’s very comparable.

It is not uncommon for lawful good faiths in literature, Dungeons and Dragons and other RPGs to have that Christianity-like feel, and it’s not surprising due to the major Judea-Christian influences in Western art, morality and philosophy. Just look as these examples.

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And this is just a few from literature and RPGs. There are also some pagan deities that were associated with or were transformed into saints in Catholicism.  and were associated Bladr from Norse mythology and St. Brigid from Celtic mythology come to mind.

Though I identify as a Christian, I tried to do what I could to prevent myself from make Aza Mathera too similar to my religion. And nothing I tried really helped.

However, as I toyed around with what a cleric of the Blue Healer would look like and panned out how others would view that person, I did come up with some interesting ideas.

Christianity was spread widely by Constantine I, a late Roman emperor and the first one of the religion. From there, it spread across Europe and the world even after the fall of the Roman Empire. Well, in Kalanesia, it’s only about a century since the Blue Empire fell in the wake of the Bloodrift wars. I decided to take a different turn. What if, instead of staying the main religion, others that appeared along side it — i.e. the Blue Pantheon — became just as prevalent and powerful.

You’ll remember that the Blue Pantheon was a collection of religions and philosophies that were worshiped openly during the Blue Empire. However, because Aza Mathera was so integral to the empire, it had the most adherents. Now, 100 years out from the empire’s fall, people lost hope that Aza Mathera’s influence was as powerful as they thought and have placed new hopes in religions that weren’t as powerful or as openly practices — hence the rise of deities like Boudica.

So, in Kalanesia, we’re not dealing with a major religion that has managed to cling to its dominance despite the fall of its patron (Christianity with the Roman Empire), its a religion that is trying to find its way back from just as much collapse as its empire. It adds a lot of tension to the religious spheres of Kalanesia by making noble families, who were heavily tied to the church, square off against the middle and lower classes who have branched out into other religions.

Also, if you go back and look at that first part about tranquility and peace, I’ve also decided to make monks — the RPG class, not the Christian monks — very prominent in the church. Also, most of the deities I mentioned before dealt with light, not water, so I git a bit of leeway there.

In the end, I knew I wouldn’t be able to shake the similarities between Aza Mathera and Christianity, but by embracing the history of the real world religion and choosing to have it take an opposite turn in the RPG and playing up where it was different, it feels more organic to Kalanesia and can make for more interesting PCs.

Into the Wild, Blue Pantheon

I’m putting putting up this post, mostly,  in preparation for future ones as background. Though it may seem old that the larger percent of my posts on this blog are for deities and pantheons already, this is usually how I form my worlds — after all, most real world cultures are developed around religion.

God made Man. Man made Art:
The Catholic Church patronized numerous artists, like Michelangelo,
to make their buildings look opulent. If you think about it, Art
is God’s grandchild who likes to run around naked.

If you look in my “About” page, you’ll see a reference to the Blue Empire, which held the greatest sway up until the Bloodrift Warlock devatstated the world. Numerous city-states have arisen in its place, and many still follow the customs spread by the empire. That includes the religions that found prominence during the Blue Age, as it has been called — I’ll put up a post of the empire here in the next few weeks.

Now, calling this the Blue Pantheon might be a bit misleading. It is actually a grouping of individual religions that were openly practiced by humans and their descending races during the empire. For the most part, they are not evil religions. Please note that this is not a complete listing.

• The Church of Aza Mathera (Lawful Good): Definitely the most predominant of all religions in the Blue Pantheon, Aza Mathera, or the Life-Giving Fountain, was founded in the city Waystrand, the seat of the Blue Empire. There, a large fountain springs from the center of the city. Blue Followers, as its adherents are often called, believe that water is life, and are the predominant healers of numerous religions.
• The Parable of Blades (Neutral): Followed by nearly all who are involved in war or who work with the military or guards, the religion is itself a pantheon derived from artifact weapons believed to be wielded by gods and to have inherited their divinity. Some of the blades are evil in nature, but they are viewed a section of a whole. Though good-aligned practitioners butt heads with evil-practitioners — the same with lawful versus chaotic — they do cooperate much like the Wizards of High Sorcery in Dragonlance. They include the following:
  • Lawgiver (Lawful Good): Represented by a broadsword, this blade represents order.
  • Shield (Neutral Good): Represented by a bastard sword, the blade represents protection.
  • Radiance (Chaotic Good): Represented by a scimitar, this blade represents passion.
  • Axiom (Lawful Neutral): Represented by a great sword, this blade represents justice.
  • Requiem (Neutral): Represented by a short sword, this blade represents grief and sorrow.
  • Willful (Chaotic Neutral): Represented by a kukri, the blade represents freeedom.
  • Irontooth (Lawful Evil): Represented by a longsword, the blade represents control.
  • Pierce (Neutral Evil): Represented by a dagger, the blade represents trickery.
  • Fury (Chaotic Evil): Represented by a khopesh, the blade represents anger.
• Halath, the Watcher in Darkness (Lawful Good): You might remember him from here.
• The Lover (Neutral): See this post.
• Ineria, the Good Goddess (Neutral Good): Ineria is a quintessential earth and fertility goddess, though she is fickle.
• Mora Ori (Lawful Neutral): If you remember, I mentioned I was going to switch up the goddess presented here. As part of the Blue Pantheon, she is more a goddess of fate, time and death whose worship originated in the marshy areas of Kalanesia.
• Verisérin (Neutral): Also called the Lorekeeper, Verisérin is a god of learning, magic, invention and science.
• The Church of Talent (Lawful Neutral): This religion sprung from, some believe, a deity whose image was printed on some of the first coins. From there,  the deity’s name was lost to the annals of history, but his likeness was transferred to the Blue Empire’s coinage, and he adopted the name Talent, an archaic form of measurement. This deity governs trade, travel, art and guilds.
• The Veiled Maiden (Neutral Good): This goddess governs charity, forgiveness and protection.
• Orisana (Chaotic Neutral): From the same post as Mora Ori, Orisana has been promoted from to having her own church in the Blue Empire. Much like her original incarnation, she supposedly taught humanity to weave nets and sail, and she is still known as a fickle goddess, probably a more prominent aspect since she will likely replace Pollistrow, the Great Undertow and Iothea, the Coral-Crowned.

Some of you who have read this blog will note that Boudicca and Wee Jas are not listed. That means they were not widely worshiped during the Blue Empire, were considered anti-empire, or evil. I’ll leave you to guess where those two goddesses fall.